Chapter 30

Chapter 30

“Wh-what the!” I exclaimed.

Shocked, I squinted as I tried to keep my eyes open. However, the wind was so powerful that I was forced to squeeze them shut. My hair fluttered around wildly, falling tangled into my face.

“Ugh!”

I crouched low, confused, but the wind died down abruptly. The room was suddenly so silent that I wondered if I’d imagined the whole thing. I raised my head cautiously to peer around.

“What in the world?”

“Squeak?”

Hearing a strange chirping noise, I silently turned to find its source. There was a ball of white fur resting on the floor, sitting on the hem of my dress...

“Squeak!”

It was a rabbit.

“What...”

This absurd new development left me at a complete loss. There had been a sudden gust of wind, and now there was a rabbit in my room. I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was seeing things, but the baby rabbit didn’t disappear.

“Squeak, squeak!”

The rabbit tilted its head at me as I stared down at it in astonishment. Then it hopped to where I was still crouched, finally coming to a rest on my knee.

“Odd. Where did you come from? This is the second floor, you know...”

“Squeak?”

“The wind can’t have carried you in, can it?” The rabbit didn’t seem to understand me, staring at me with its red eyes, nose twitching as it tilted its head. “What am I doing? If you understood what I was saying, that would be terrifying, wouldn’t it?”

The rabbit opened its mouth suddenly, its two tiny incisors peeking out. Then it spoke.

“Your request has been fulfilled.” The cute rabbit’s voice had the husky baritone of a grown man.

I froze for a second then screamed, recoiling. To my dismay, the rabbit was flung off my knee landing softly on its feet. Fortunately, it seemed to have good reflexes. It peered up at me innocently as if nothing strange had happened?”

“The hell? That voice just now...”

I’d heard the rabbit speak in a deep, masculine voice a moment ago. The creature was barely the size of my fist, but I stared at it in trepidation. The rabbit didn’t speak in its strange voice again, and I muttered to myself, stupefied, “What was that? Am I hearing things or—”

“Your request has been fulfilled. If you wish to receive the information, please come personally to our establishment,” came the deep voice again.

“Oh my god!” I balked again, scrambling away quickly. I was so desperate to get away from the rabbit that soon I felt the bedpost digging into my back. The rabbit didn’t make any move to pursue me. In fact, it didn’t move from where it sat on the plush carpet at all.

“This has been a message from the Guild of the White Rabbit. If you’ll excuse me,” said the rabbit. Then another gust of wind blew through the room. When the wind had died down, and I was done organizing my disheveled hair, I found the fluffy white rabbit was nowhere to be seen.

“What...”

I stared at the patch of carpet where the rabbit had been sitting. Then I remembered that this was how Winter would contact the female protagonist in normal mode. He kept his identity a closely guarded secret and seldom did any task in person. He mostly delivered his messages through small animals like birds, mice, or puppies.

Most common, though, were the white rabbits that decorated his merchant group’s emblem. I vaguely recalled finding it quite romantic. However, one shocking detail had been left out of the game.

“I didn’t know the rabbits talked like that...”

The actual game had no voice actors. Winter’s messages were written out as on-screen dialogue, and I hadn’t imagined that the animals would actually speak.

“Ha.”

Thinking of the masculine voice that had come from the adorable baby rabbit’s tiny mouth made me laugh. It was so silly. Why didn’t he just send a letter or a messenger like a normal person?

Wait, don’t tell me he’s got some screws loose, too...

The thought made me shiver, and I shook my head. I’d already been fooled by Eckles, whom I’d considered to be an easy way out. Pursuing Winter was only insurance just in case Eckles’ affection score dropped for some unforeseeable reason. But if even Winter couldn’t be trusted...

“Actually, yes. It’s highly unlikely that all five of them are crazy,” I muttered to myself, denying the possibility wholeheartedly. I considered what I’d seen of Winter in normal mode and during our brief encounter at the palace. He was gentlemanly enough to offer his handkerchief without hesitation even to the villain. Perhaps he would be an even easier target than Eckles.

“I need to go see him before I decide anything.”

Feeling a little calmer, I picked myself up off the floor. I had fled a considerable distance from the patch of carpet I’d been nodding off on. I felt a little embarrassed that I’d scrambled away like a coward because of such a tiny, fluffy creature.

I hope he didn’t see that.

In any case, Winter reaching out was great news for me. I wouldn’t have to participate in countless balls and festivities just for a chance at meeting him. I’d just come to this satisfying conclusion when the white notification window popped up again.

<SYSTEM>

A new episode has begun: [The Suspicious Mage, Winter Verdandi].

Depart for the guild immediately?

[Yes. / No.]

“Give me a second,” I said as if the window could understand me.

I began hurriedly preparing to leave. I needed to take a few precautions if I was going to leave without alerting anyone. First, I found the robe that I’d worn when I’d rescued Eckles. I’d taken care to hide it deep in the closet despite Emily’s protests and attempts to throw it away. Then I retrieved a sapphire necklace from one of the jewelry boxes, to be used as payment. I also gathered Winter’s white handkerchief and a gift that I thought he might like.

“Do I need to take this?” I wondered, eying the smiling mask that Reynold had bought me at the festival.

Winter had sent the rabbit directly to my room, which meant trying to hide my identity didn’t serve any purpose. But then I remembered that I was trying to portray the part of a nobleman’s daughter secretly searching for a man.

I’ll stay true to that concept for now.

I put the mask on and with a final look in the mirror I dashed over to the notification window floating in the air.

“All right. Let’s do this!”

* * *

There was a flash of light and when I opened my eyes, I was standing in a quiet alleyway.

“Is this the place?” I wondered.

There was a run-down-looking building in front of me, where the faint image of a rabbit was made almost invisible by the grain of the old wooden door. I knew that this was Winter’s establishment since I’d already seen it in the game. I approached the door, intending to knock. However, when I raised my hand to do so, the door opened with a creak.

“Huh?”

I felt a shiver go down my spine, wondering if someone was watching me. I peered into the dark interior before pushing the door open all the way and going inside. The interior looked just as I remembered it. There was a desk, a bookcase, and a sofa for guests. It was just an ordinary office and—strangely—it appeared to be totally empty

“Where is he?”

I’d come almost immediately after receiving the rabbit’s message and was disappointed to find the office vacant. I wondered if I should go back to the manor but decided to wait around for a while since I’d already made my way here. I didn’t know how to get back anyway and would have to borrow one of the guild’s carriages since carriages were basically the taxis of this world.

Despite being an information guild of great repute, I couldn’t see a single servant or employee.

What kind of guild doesn’t have any servants? But then again, I suppose that’s why he sends those creepy rabbits with the fully grown male voices to carry his messages...

I pulled the door shut and made my way to the sofa. Since I was a guest here, I would make myself comfortable and wait. I was curiously examining the interior once more when there was a loud booming noise. I felt the sofa vibrate underneath me.

“Wh-what the!” I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. The entire building seemed to shake for a moment before it returned to quiet stillness.

“Strange,” I murmured, my head tilting in confusion. I was about to take a seat when the sound came again, this time accompanied by a vibration powerful enough to make me stumble. There was a distant rumbling sound.

“Whoa!” I screamed, grasping at the back of the sofa.

I just want to see Winter, for goodness’ sake! Why is nothing easy in this world?

The sofa was shaking under my grip, but the tremors soon passed again.

“I-is it an earthquake?” I grabbed onto the armrest, bracing myself for another tremor. I waited in tense silence, but everything remained still.

Quickly sliding off the sofa, I peered out the window. I had no knowledge of any natural disasters occurring in the game world and wanted to see how other people were reacting.

“Huh?”

The scene outside couldn’t have been more peaceful. No one had run out onto the street despite the two enormous tremors. In fact, the streets remained completely empty.

“I mean, even if it’s a quiet alleyway... There are still other buildings on this street. Where are all the people?”

Because the festival was still in full swing, there would be pandemonium if an earthquake hit the capital now. I pressed my ear against the window with a frown. Maybe the window was soundproof and blocked all outside noise.

At that moment, I heard a thumping noise—not from outside, but from behind me, further inside the building.